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Modularity
Modularity is the degree to which a system's components may be separated and recombined, often with the benefit of flexibility and variety in use. The concept of modularity is used primarily to reduce complexity by breaking a system into varying degrees of interdependence and independence across and "hide the complexity of each part behind an abstraction and interface". However, the concept of modularity can be extended to multiple disciplines, each with their own nuances. Despite these nuances, consistent themes concerning modular systems can be identified. Composability is one of the tenets of functional programming. This makes functional programs modular. Contextual nuances The meaning of the word "modularity" can vary somewhat based on context. The following are contextual examples of modularity across several fields of science, technology, industry, and culture: Science *In biology, modularity recognizes that organisms or metabolic pathways are composed of modules. *I ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Modularity Of Mind
Modularity of mind is the notion that a mind may, at least in part, be composed of innate neural structures or mental modules which have distinct, established, and evolutionarily developed functions. However, different definitions of "module" have been proposed by different authors. According to Jerry Fodor, the author of ''Modularity of Mind'', a system can be considered 'modular' if its functions are made of multiple dimensions or units to some degree. One example of modularity in the mind is ''binding''. When one perceives an object, they take in not only the features of an object, but the integrated features that can operate in sync or independently that create a whole. Instead of just seeing ''red'', ''round'', ''plastic'', and ''moving'', the subject may experience a rolling red ball. Binding may suggest that the mind is modular because it takes multiple cognitive processes to perceive one thing. Early investigations Historically, questions regarding the ''functional architect ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Modularity (networks)
Modularity is a measure of the structure of Complex network, networks or Graph (discrete mathematics), graphs which measures the strength of division of a network into modules (also called groups, clusters or communities). Networks with high modularity have dense connections between the nodes within modules but sparse connections between nodes in different modules. Modularity is often used in optimization methods for detecting community structure in networks. Biological networks, including animal brains, exhibit a high degree of modularity. However, modularity maximization is not statistically consistent, and finds communities in its own null model, i.e. fully random graphs, and therefore it cannot be used to find statistically significant community structures in empirical networks. Furthermore, it has been shown that modularity suffers a resolution limit and, therefore, it is unable to detect small communities. Motivation Many scientifically important problems can be represente ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Modular Design
Modular design, or modularity in design, is a design principle that subdivides a system into smaller parts called ''modules'' (such as modular process skids), which can be independently created, modified, replaced, or exchanged with other modules or between different systems. Overview A modular design can be characterized by functional partitioning into discrete scalable and reusable modules, rigorous use of well-defined modular interfaces, and making use of industry standards for interfaces. In this context modularity is at the component level, and has a single dimension, component slottability. A modular system with this limited modularity is generally known as a platform system that uses modular components. Examples are car platforms or the USB port in computer engineering platforms. In design theory this is distinct from a modular system which has higher dimensional modularity and degrees of freedom. A modular system design has no distinct lifetime and exhibits flexibility i ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Modular Art
Modular art is art created by joining together standardized units ( modules) to form larger, more complex compositions. In some works the units can be subsequently moved, removed and added to – that is, ''modulated'' – to create a new work of art, different from the original or ensuing configurations. Origins Historically, alterable objects of art have existed since the Renaissance, for example, in the Triptych "The Garden of Earthly Delights" by Hieronymus Bosch or in the so-called "alterable altarpieces", such as the Isenheim Altarpiece by Matthias Grünewald, or Albrecht Dürer's Paumgartner altarpiece, where changing motifs could be revised in accord with the changing themes of the ecclesiastical calendar. 20th century Beginning in the first half of the 20th century, a number of contemporary artists sought to incorporate kinetic techniques into their work in an attempt to overcome what they saw as the predominantly static nature of art. Alexander Calder's mobiles are ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Visual Modularity
In cognitive neuroscience, visual modularity is an organizational concept concerning how vision works. The way in which the primate visual system operates is currently under intense scientific scrutiny. One dominant thesis is that different properties of the visual world (color, motion, form and so forth) require different computational solutions which are implemented in anatomically/functionally distinct regions that operate independently – that is, in a modular fashion. Motion processing Akinetopsia, a term coined by Semir Zeki, refers to an intriguing condition brought about by damage to the Extrastriate cortex MT+ (also known as area V5) that renders humans and monkeys unable to perceive motion, seeing the world in a series of static "frames" instead and indicates that there might be a "motion centre" in the brain. Of course, such data can only indicate that this area is at least necessary to motion perception, not that it is sufficient; however, other evidence has shown the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Language Module
The language module or language faculty is a hypothetical structure in the human brain which is thought to contain innate capacities for language, originally posited by Noam Chomsky. There is ongoing research into brain modularity in the fields of cognitive science and neuroscience, although the current idea is much weaker than what was proposed by Chomsky and Jerry Fodor in the 1980s. In today's terminology, 'modularity' refers to specialisation: language processing is specialised in the brain to the extent that it occurs partially in different areas than other types of information processing such as visual input. The current view is, then, that language is neither compartmentalised nor based on general principles of processing (as proposed by George Lakoff). It is modular to the extent that it constitutes a specific cognitive skill or area in cognition. Meaning of a module The notion of a dedicated language module in the human brain originated with Noam Chomsky's theory of ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Software Design
Software design is the process of conceptualizing how a software system will work before it is implemented or modified. Software design also refers to the direct result of the design process the concepts of how the software will work which consists of both design documentation and undocumented concepts. Software design usually is directed by goals for the resulting system and involves problem-solving and planning including both high-level software architecture and low-level component and algorithm design. In terms of the waterfall development process, software design is the activity of following requirements specification and before coding. General process The design process enables a designer to model various aspects of a software system before it exists. Creativity, past experience, a sense of what makes "good" software, and a commitment to quality are success factors for a competent design. However, the design process is not always a straightforward procedure ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Modular Programming
Modular programming is a software design technique that emphasizes separating the functionality of a program into independent, interchangeable modules, such that each contains everything necessary to execute only one aspect or "concern" of the desired functionality. A module interface expresses the elements that are provided and required by the module. The elements defined in the interface are detectable by other modules. The implementation contains the working code that corresponds to the elements declared in the interface. Modular programming is closely related to structured programming and object-oriented programming, all having the same goal of facilitating construction of large software programs and systems by decomposition into smaller pieces, and all originating around the 1960s. While the historical usage of these terms has been inconsistent, "modular programming" now refers to the high-level decomposition of the code of an entire program into pieces: structured progra ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Contemporary Art
Contemporary art is a term used to describe the art of today, generally referring to art produced from the 1970s onwards. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic combination of Medium (arts), materials, methods, concepts, and subjects that continue the challenging of boundaries that was already well underway in the 20th century. Diverse and eclectic, contemporary art as a whole is distinguished by the very lack of a uniform, organising principle, ideology, or "-ism". Contemporary art is part of a cultural dialogue that concerns larger contextual frameworks such as personal and cultural identity, family, community, and nationality. In English, ''modern'' and ''contemporary'' are synonyms, resulting in some conflation and confusion of the terms ''modern art'' and ''contemporary art'' by non-specialists. Some specialists also consider that the frontier between the two is blurry; for instance, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Contemporary Architecture
Contemporary architecture is the architecture of the 21st century. No single style is dominant. Contemporary architects work in several different styles, from postmodernism, high-tech architecture and new references and interpretations of traditional architecture like New Classical architecture and neo-vernacular architecture. to highly conceptual forms and designs, resembling sculpture on an enormous scale. Some of these styles and approaches make use of very advanced technology and modern building materials, such as tube structures which allow construction of buildings that are taller, lighter and stronger than those in the 20th century, while others prioritize the use of natural and ecological materials like stone, wood and lime. One technology that is common to all forms of contemporary architecture is the use of new techniques of computer-aided design, which allow buildings to be designed and modeled on computers in three dimensions, and constructed with more precision an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
System
A system is a group of interacting or interrelated elements that act according to a set of rules to form a unified whole. A system, surrounded and influenced by its open system (systems theory), environment, is described by its boundaries, structure and purpose and is expressed in its functioning. Systems are the subjects of study of systems theory and other systems sciences. Systems have several common properties and characteristics, including structure, function(s), behavior and interconnectivity. Etymology The term ''system'' comes from the Latin word ''systēma'', in turn from Greek language, Greek ''systēma'': "whole concept made of several parts or members, system", literary "composition"."σύστημα" , Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, ''A Greek–English Lexicon'', on Pers ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
